AN: As a long time writer and fan of NCIS, I wanted to write a piece that focuses on the repercussions of McGee/Gibbs going missing and their return. Without a single Abby/Gibbs scene this season, I can only assume it's because she is leaving the show. So this will hopefully give due credit to the two characters that have proven to have the longest and strongest bond of the original characters that are left. Please review and follow if you feel so inclined. Thank you.

When Bishop came down to the lab to tell her the news about Gibbs and McGee, Abby had just started to pack up her things to head home for the night. Little did she know that nothing would ever be the same again. She tried to remain stoic as she was told the details. They didn't know much. But one thing they did know was that the two most important people in her life, were missing. Gone. Maybe never coming back.

But, she was Abby Sciuto. And while she could worry with the best of them, she had to remain hopeful. She had to keep plastering that smile on her face. She had to keep believing they would come home.

Because life without them, couldn't be much of a life at all.

Gibbs was her axis.

He steadied her.

He anchored her.

They had to come home.

The first few days consisted of long anxious nights. Dead of night phone calls to Tony, Ducky and listening to Gibbs voicemail (that had never been set up) on repeat. By the third day she found herself at Gibbs' doorstep and let herself in. She brought a duffel bag for just one night but ended up staying two, then three, then four. She found comfort on the stiff couch she had spent many nights before. Usually when she was upset or her life was in danger, or they had just lost someone. She spent five nights there the week they lost Kate. Jenny. Ziva.

It really wasn't fair this whole tragedy thing that followed them. It wasn't fair that things always had to change. But when the ebb and flow of life would get to her, Gibbs would always be there. He would listen. Nod. Listen some more. He would hold her. Kiss her forehead. And everything was well with the world. But what did life look like without that? Would she really have to find out? Would Delilah? On night three, she ventured down to the basement and sobbed out of fear for a little while. No one could see or hear her down there. Maybe that's why Gibbs loved spending so much time there? It must have been a refuge for him. Because it had certainly become one for her.

Every morning she would wake up and head into work in hopes of hearing any news. She worked cases. Processed evidence. Did her job. She had become rather seasoned at putting emotions on the back burner and continuing to get the job done. But this wasn't just any loss.

This was Gibbs.

This was McGee.

This was her family.

By month two, she had become almost numb to it all. The grief and reality of their loss was chipping away at her soul. She refused to give into the despair, though. They wouldn't want that. They'd want her to be strong. But God, it hurt. The unknown was agonizing. Have they been dead this whole time? Were they being tortured in some dark dungeon? Were they making their way through the jungle in a daring escape? So many questions. No answers. And it was her job to find answers.

She crossed out another day on the calendar. Day 40 seemed to be even harder than Day 1. She couldn't get herself out of bed on Day 40. She didn't want to play pretend anymore. She hated that this was real life and figured she deserved one day to hide under the covers and cry. When her mind went to the worst case scenario, her grief was raw – excruciating and exhausting.

Tony made a trip out to see her on Day 42. It helped. He joked with her. Showed her pictures of Tali. They watched movies. They stared at each other without needing to say how afraid they were. His presence was comforting but she knew it was only temporary. A reprieve. He would leave again. And they would they would still be gone.

But something strange happened a few weeks later. There was a chance. A lead. Just when she was accepting this new normal, the hope came flooding back. They would be okay. They would come home. But just like on day one, she wondered if it would ever be the same again.